TRYING TO conceive(怀孕，受孕) through in vitro fertilisation (IVF) leads to disappointment more often than not(往往，多半). About 60% of IVF attempts fail. Fertility clinics offer a long list of tests and procedures purported to(号称，据称) boost their customers’ chances. But a review of the evidence, published on June 23rd in the Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women’s Health, found no convincing evidence that most of these “IVF add-ons” are helpful. Worryingly, lots of the published evidence was dubious(可疑的，靠不住的).
试图通过体外受精（IVF）受孕往往以失望告终。大约60%的IVF尝试失败。生育诊所提供一长串据称能提高患者成功率的检测和程序。但6月23日发表在《柳叶刀·妇产科与女性健康》上的一项证据综述发现，大多数这些“IVF附加项”没有令人信服的证据表明它们有效。令人担忧的是，许多已发表的证据并不可靠。
The review examined 157 randomised(随机化的) trials of various IVF add-ons. The researchers ran each through a checklist designed to spot signs that the data may have been manipulated(被操纵的). That list was developed in 2023 by fertility researchers (including some of the review’s authors) who had noticed a growing number of fraudulent(欺诈的，欺骗性的) studies. They looked for things such as implausible(不合理的，难以置信的) study timelines, strange participant data or holes in a trial’s paper trail(书面记录，文件线索).
该综述检查了157项关于各种IVF附加项的随机试验。研究人员使用一份旨在发现数据可能被操纵迹象的核对清单对每项研究进行了评估。该清单由生育研究人员（包括该综述的部分作者）于2023年制定，他们注意到越来越多的欺诈性研究。他们寻找诸如不合理的研究时间线、奇怪的参与者数据或试验书面记录的漏洞等迹象。
All told, nearly half of the trials did not pass muster(不合格，未通过检查). The remaining 85 covered ten commonly used add-ons. Of those, only three procedures showed evidence of a benefit, although the evidence was not particularly strong. The three procedures in question(所讨论的，相关的) were endometrial scratching(子宫内膜刮擦) (which involves deliberately disturbing the lining of the uterus), EmbryoGlue (in which an embryo is dipped in a solution of hyaluronic acid(透明质酸), which is naturally found in the reproductive tract), and physiological intracytoplasmic sperm injection(胞浆内精子注射) or PICSI (which tries to select high-quality individual sperm cells).
总而言之，近一半的试验未通过审查。剩下的85项试验涵盖了十种常用附加项。其中，只有三种操作显示出有益的证据，尽管证据并非特别有力。这三种操作分别是：子宫内膜刮擦（故意扰乱子宫内壁）、胚胎胶（将胚胎浸入透明质酸溶液中，透明质酸天然存在于生殖道中）以及生理性胞浆内精子注射（或称PICSI，旨在筛选高质量单个精子细胞）。